Canada's New Democratic Party elects Avi Lewis as its leader

2 days agoNadine YousifSenior Canada reporterReutersCanada's left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) has chosen former journalist and activist Avi Lewis as their new leader, after suffering major losses in the last federal election. Lewis received 56% of the vote in a first ballot victory, defeating member of parliament Heather McPherson and three other candidates.He ran on a platform to revive the struggling party, prioritising worker rights in the age of artificial intelligence, ending new oil and gas pipelines and projects, and exploring state-owned, non-profit grocery stores.Once the main opposition party in 2011, the NDP now holds only six seats in Canada's House of Commons. At his victory speech on Sunday in Winnipeg, Lewis, 58, said his party is united in its commitment to the working people of Canada and to easing the cost-of-living crisis."I know every politician says they feel your pain, and they claim to be outraged by the sky-high price of everything, but what they won't talk about is why an economy that's rigged for the rich is leaving the vast majority of us behind," Lewis said.He will have the challenge of rebuilding the federal party. "Canada, mark your calendar: the NDP comeback starts now," Lewis said. "This is about all of us coming together to find our place and our power in the thrilling work of building a shared future: a government that works for the many, not the money."The party's poor showing in the 2025 election forced the resignation of its then-leader, Jagmeet Singh, the first Sikh Canadian to lead a major political party. The NDP lost a total of 17 seats in the 2025 election, including 10 to the Conservatives and seven to the Liberals. They are now polling well behind both parties at 12% support among voters, according to a 20 March Nanos poll. Despite its federal losses, the party's provincial iterations still enjoy support and are the governing parties in British Columbia and Manitoba. Premier Wab Kinew of Manitoba has a 61% approval rate—the highest of any other Canadian premier.Lewis was the frontrunner in the race and dominated his rivals in fundraising with C$1.2m during his campaign. Lewis can assume leadership of the party despite not holding a seat in the House of Commons, though he will be expected to run in the next federal election or in a by-election. He will also not be able to participate directly in parliamentary debates.He has run twice unsuccessfully in Vancouver, where he currently resides, in 2021 and 2025. Lewis will also have to introduce himself to many former NDP voters who told polling firm Angus Reid that they could not name any of the candidates in the party's leadership race.A quarter of past voters also see the party as "irrelevant", according to a poll released by Angus Reid earlier this week, and 40% say its best days are behind it.Earlier this month, Lori Idlout, an NDP MP from the northern territory of Nunavut, defected to Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals.Idlout endorsed Lewis as leader prior to her defection but said she decided to cross the floor after "much personal reflection" and the desire to be part of "a strong and ambitious government".The NDP has a long history in Canada as a left-leaning political movement that had catered to the country's working class. Its founder, Tommy Douglas, is largely credited with being the father of Canada's universal health care system. Who is Avi Lewis?ReutersBorn in Toronto, Lewis is a former journalist who has hosted shows for Canada's public broadcaster the CBC, as well as Al Jazeera English.His family has a long history with the NDP. His grandfather, David Lewis, was one of the party's founding members and was its leader in the 1970s, while his father, Stephen Lewis, led the Ontario NDP. On his website, Lewis describes himself as "a veteran journalist, educator and activist who brings 35 years of movement-building experience to the NDP".He is married to Naomi Klein, a well-known author, social activist and filmmaker who is behind books like This Changes Everything on the climate crisis, and Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, which explores political polarisation. In 2015, Lewis and Klein, along with a few others, launched a document dubbed the Leap Manifesto, which proposes broad societal and economic changes to address climate change.The document also included proposals addressing wealth and income quality, racisim and colonialism in Canada.When announcing his leadership bid, Lewis released a video in which he blamed corporations, CEOs and past governments for Canada's cost-of-living crisis.Some policies, like public grocery stores and rent caps, will be familiar to supporters of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist whose campaign energised American progressives. Lewis has said he was "deeply inspired" by Mamdani's election, though he argues he has been a longtime supporter of such policies. He is also critical of free trade deals, which he says have "killed hundreds of thousands of jobs" and made Canada vulnerable to "bullying" from US President Donald Trump. Lewis has promised a wealth tax, and expanded public childcare and healthcare, building a million affordable public homes, among other measures addressing climate and affordability.He has received criticism from members of his own party, namely former Alberta NDP minister Shannon Phillips, who said his stance on oil and gas may alienate voters in her oil-rich province.